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Thursday, July 28, 2011

A new city centre air race format has been launched which is forecast to change the way we watch sport. The Sky Challenge Air Race uses new technology to allow high speed aerobatic aircraft to fly against each other through a computer generated course.

“We’ve invented an interactive digital course for the planes to fly though” said Sky Challenge CEO Peter Newport at the Oshkosh air show in the United States. “This solves all of the problems of running air races for event spectators and TV viewers – people just want to see the thrill of the world’s best pilots in a true head to head race.”

City centre competitions have, up until now, been flown as time trials by individual planes against the clock due to the technical challenge of keeping the aircraft on their own individual tracks.

The Sky Challenge Air Race displays the digital course for each plane on a screen inside the aircraft cockpit. Military grade technology keeps each pilot on their own individual track – which can adjust in real time to mistakes or short cuts made by the pilot. “This means that the first plane across the finish line is always the winner” said Peter Newport. “We’ve done away with the need for post finish penalty points and will give spectators and TV audiences the chance to experience a brand new type of live sport.”

Mid size and large cities, preferably with a river, beach or harbour near the city centre, are the targets for the Sky Challenge Air Race. The package being offered to host cities will include global TV coverage, outdoor screens to bring every aspect of the action live to the spectators and an interactive game which allows millions of online virtual pilots to fly the same city centre course.

“It’s the perfect promotional package for a city wanting to market itself globally and a chance to showcase the actual city – not the inside of a sports stadium” said Newport. “We’re offering the opportunity to bring hundreds of thousands of spectators into the city centre – which will produce huge economic benefits with no need for expensive facilities to be built and very little disruption to the infrastructure of the host city.”

Technical testing of the Sky Challenge Air Race has been completed and the interactive digital course is protected by patent applications which have been filed around the world. The interactive course can be developed for all types of sport and is not limited to air racing. The Sky Challenge Air Race is already engaged in initial talks with a number of cities and invites further expressions of interest prior to the start of a formal bid process. New video has been posted on the Sky Challenge website and You Tube to mark the Oshkosh launch.